The present invention relates generally to a system and method for the use of an application tool to facilitate the viewing of normally hidden information in a multiple application window environment.
A windows type desktop such as IBM OS2 or Microsoft Windows provides the user with substantial flexibility in managing the look of the desktop while interfacing with applications. Functions are provided that enable the desktop user to size application windows, move application windows, overlay application windows and to reduce application windows to icons. An application icon provides only the identification of the deployed application with no other information related to the application visible on the desktop. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a conventional display screen 25 containing desktop icons 15, an application window 20, a minimize button 10, a window reduction/enlargement button 12, a close button 14, an application title bar 16, an application tool bar 18, and scroll bars 22, 24. Application icons 28, are located in the taskbar 26.
Over the years, more and more applications are typically available for activation from the desktop. Generally users are also deploying an increasing number of applications that are concurrently in some state of execution. As this trend continues, even more flexibility for managing the desktop is needed to provide the user with the best productivity from her desktop system. More particularly, when information from two different application windows is needed, the desktop user is forced into one of several methods which can be time consuming and detrimental to her productivity. One such method involves reducing one or more applications windows to an icon such that the underlying application window and information may be viewed. Another method involves selecting the icon representing the application (or selecting a portion of the application window if not completely covered) that contains the needed information as a means to bring that application window to the top of the desktop.
This problem becomes more evident when dealing with overlapping application windows. FIG. 2 is illustrative of a situation involving a primary application window 30 and an overlapped application window 40. When there is a need for the simultaneous viewing of information contained in the windows 30, 40, the user must resize the corresponding application windows and arrange them on the desktop so as to make both sets of needed information simultaneously viewable. After viewing the needed information, the user typically resizes the application windows 30, 40 back to their original size to facilitate the easy viewing of each application windows without causing undue eyestrain. When all the user wants is a quick look at some information in one application for comparison or manipulation in the other application, the conventional methodology is a time consuming and annoying procedure.
Productivity is further impacted when the needed information is located in an application window that is not directly beneath the primary application window. If a user is working on a document in the primary application window, he might be interested in a document that is several layers beneath the primary application window. Further, the document of interest may be a completely different application. Typically, the user would have to resize, move, and minimize windows on the desktop screen in order to view multiple documents or applications of interest. This process is time consuming and can cause the user to become distracted.
Another drawback to the conventional methodology relates to a user""s inability to quickly move or relocate information from one window to another document. In order to do this, a user would typically have to disrupt the viewing of a primary application window to locate the desired information to cut and paste.
What is needed is a method for viewing the contents of an application window that would otherwise be hidden. This will provide the user with the ability to quickly access needed information without having to undergo the time consuming process of resizing, minimizing or rearranging desktop windows.
The present invention provides a method, system, and computer readable medium for viewing hidden windows on a display including a plurality of application windows, a portion of at least one application window of the plurality of application windows being obscured. The method, system, and computer readable medium comprise creating a viewport displayed as a topmost application window in response to a user interaction and displaying at least a portion of the at least one application window being obscured in the viewport.
Through the use of the present invention a user can simultaneously view information from multiple applications where one or more application windows are partially or wholly covering needed information in an underlying application window. Furthermore, the user will also be able to view application windows that are not directly underneath the primary application window, but are in an inactive state. This will provide the user with the ability to quickly access needed information without having to undergo the time consuming process of resizing, minimizing, or rearranging desktop windows.